Kick'n Back follow up.

Well, our first outing for the Kick'n Back foundation was a HUGE success!  At the CAK vs. Hardin Valley game, we were able to collect over 75 pairs of cleats, 20 balls, 30 pairs of socks, 30 pairs of shin guards, and many jerseys and shorts.  And that was just at our first game!  2 of my players (seen in the picture to the left) came to the game with me.  Both enjoyed watching the match (though they were rooting for Hardin Valley... booo!) and were very honored for the donations that were given.

James Logan and I were able to clean and sort all of the gear the next day.  We filled over 4 bins with the cleats, tied each pair together, and sized each so that they were easy to read and pick out.  It took us most of the morning just to go through the cleats.

That Sunday, we went to our Burundi practice and brought the gear with us.  The guys were so excited. We took a $5 donation for the pairs of cleats, and a $1 donation for any socks or shinguards.  All of the proceeds go back into the Kick'n Back foundation, which will help pay for their future expenses.  This provides ownership of the gear to the guys.  Studies have shown this works much better in the long run, as opposed to just handing the gear out.   The whole team was able to purchase cleats at a cost that they all could afford.  We had a great practice that day, because everyone had their own shoes!

Our next venture as a Burundian team is our game schedule.  We will be playing 2 scrimmages over the next month.  The first will be against a team of American college students.  Most all are former CAK players who attend at UT.  The B.F.C wanted to get an 11 a side match before they play their rival team in Charlotte.

The second scrimmage will be against another Burundian refugee team in North Carolina.  Our challenge now, is to find a way to get them to Charlotte.  With gas being so expensive, and bus or van rental even more, this provides a difficult task.  However, we have started a nice money base with the funds collected from the cleats.  If any of you would like to help out, however, we would love it.  All donations are tax deductible.  If you have any questions, please e mail me.

We are hoping to have our second promotion at a Farragut soccer match next week.  We'll keep you posted!  Thanks so much for all of your prayers.  We really appreciate them. 

Next blog will share the updates with the Brazil mission trip.  We are in 3rd gear, ready to shift to 4th!  2 new tour members were just added yesterday!